tart to tart

Yesterday was a good food day. I went to Frjtz for belgium fries and mussels, and then walked over to Tartine for some outrageously delicious baked goods, and, on my way back to the car, stopped off at Bombay Ice Cream for a rose petal ice cream.

Frjtz fries - surprisingly ordinary; the white truffel/artichoke ketchup tastes just like ketchup. B-
Frjtz Sukhothai mussel - yummo! They give you a good portion, and the Thai sauce is so good that I ended up using for dipping the fries and bread. A
Tartine banana cream tart - holy moly - this stuff, especially the tart crust, is heaven. A
Tartine lemon cream tart - good but nothing extraordinary. B+
Bombay rose petal ice cream - I like the rose petal texture, reminds me of lychee bits. B

Yeah, days like this make me glad to be alive.

axles, mogul, and slalom

Randomness, Olympics edition: I think the women's figure skating results are sort of perfect. Kim Yu-Na, widely regarded as best in the world, skated the performance of a lifetime and won her much deserved gold. I think even Kim Il Jong was rooting for her. Mao Asada from Japan had to follow her and did not buckle under pressure, successfully did her unprecedented triple axles (I say this as if I know what a triple axle is), and scored silver. And Joannie Rochette, whose mother died unexpectedly a couple of days of the Olympics competition, skated bravely and beautifully for herself and her mother and ended up with bronze. This is the way Olympics stories should be, unlike the men's competition, which were underwhelming and ended with controversial results...Apolo Ohno is now the winningest U.S. Winter Olympian ever. He didn't win any gold this time out though - those South Koreans are speedskating demons. But good on Apolo for everything he's accomplished...I feel so bad for the Netherlands' Sven Kramer, who was speedskating his way to a gold medal when his coach mistakenly pointed him into the wrong lane and got him disqualified. Yikes!...Apparently when Bode Miller is not partying and drinking up a storm, he can win medals. Who knew?...My least favorite American Olympian has to be that Lindsay Vonn girl. Too much hype and too much drama. She's like Lindsay Lohan of the slopes...I really like Vancouver - what a wonderful city. I always say that it's one of the few cities in the world that I would totally just pack up and move to...Those medals are really cool looking this time. They are all pieces of a bigger artwork and have a very abstract, wavy shape. I really want one of those. Maybe in the next life, the same life in which I win an Oscar and a Pulitzer...My favorite win is by Alex Bilodeau, who won Canada's first home soil Olympic gold ever. I have no idea what a mogul is, vs a slalom, but I couldn't help but cheer for this nice guy to make his home country and his older brother, who has Cerebral Palsy, proud. Alex Bilodeau says of his brother: "My brother is my inspiration. He taught me so many things in my life. He taught me determination: When you want something, you can have it."...And then there is the snowboarder who didn't even make it to the Olympics - Kevin Pearce - after he injured his head shortly before the games and is now trying to re-learn how to talk and walk. NBC did a profile on him and his family. He has a brother, David, who has Down Syndrome. His parents said that they now realize having David was their preparation for dealing with Kevin's ordeal - most importantly they learned patience. And when David visited Kevin at the hospital, he went around and hugged all the staff and told them to take good care of his brother...We should all remember Nodar Kumaritashvili, the young Georgian luger who died in his Olympics practice run. If there is any consolation, it's that he died chasing his dream...Yeah, sometimes it's not all about victories and medals, but about conviction and courage and family and love. I know that's what they want you to think about the Olympics, but I am okay with that, because I want to think that too. It is supposed to inspire you to better yourself in whatever you do, to be reminded of what the human body and spirit are capable of. I am sad that the Olympics are ending, and it will be another two years til the Summer Olympics. See you in London.

snapshot, eh!

Weather: Rain
State: Chill
Music: Hot Chip's new cd One Life Stand
Last Movie: Shutter Island
Reading: About to give up on Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and move on to something else
Last Pleasure: Return of Amazing Race (man, I hate those lesbians...) and watching the Olympics
Last Worry: Earthquakes!
Looking Forward To: Maybe going to New York in June
Not Really Looking Forward To: Maybe getting that trip canceled
Tired Of: Lady Gaga hype and Tiger Woods apology (ugh)
Gas Price: $2.93/gallon
Clothes: Black v-neck tee, black hoodie, grey H&M barracuda jacket, Gap authentic fit jeans
Today's Headline: Outgunned Taliban mounting tough fight in Marjah
Current Desktop Wallpaper: 500 Days of Summer
Last Website Visited: Lands End Canvas
Last Meal: Chicken curry, corn and leek chowder
Last Purchase: Canon ink for my printer
Item Off My Wishlist: A tool shed for my backyard to hold earthquake supplies
Latest Evidence It's A Beautiful World: Alex Bilodeau's Gold Medal win (first Canadian gold on home soil) and the Olympics in general, eh!

if u fall hard, i'll fall harder

10. Ambling Alp - Yeasayer
9. Bloodline - Matt Morris
8. Saturday Come Down - Massive Attack featuring Damon Albarn
7. In The Sun - She & Him
6. The High Road - Broken Bells
5. Great Big Mind - Josh Ritter
4. One Life Stand - Hot Chip
3. Zebra - Beach House
2. 22 - Wakey! Wakey!
1. Fall Hard - Shout Out Louds

you should go home before your money's all gone

I seriously love this song.

o, sandy

My Oscar nominations reactions:

- Boo. No (500) Days Of Summer noms at all, not for best pic, best actor, or best screenplay. Oscar people suck.

- Boo. No Star Trek for best pic. They got ten chances this year to get it right, and they failed.

- Yay for Sandra Bullock, who's got to be the most likable movie star (along with that Clooney guy) around. I say that even with the husband's ex-porn star wife drama going down.

- The Blind Side amongst the ten? I like it but dang, those bloggers and forum folks will have much to hate on.

- Penelope Cruz again? I like her fine, but those Oscar people are so repetitive.

- District 9 - a happy surprise. But I still prefer (500) Days of Summer and Star Trek.

- I will like to start my own Avatar backlash. I am tired of blue people already.

- Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren could poop and get nominated.

- I don't get why Inglourious Basterds is so acclaimed. It's alright.

- I will never watch Precious. My Mariah boycott continues.

- I will never watch Crazy Heart, or A Serious Man, or Invictus. I fell asleep just typing their titles just now.

- How come there are so many movies I've never even heard of, and not just in the foreign language or documentary categories? I mean, what the hell is In the Loop, or The White Ribbon, or The Secret of Kells, or Il Divo? I assume Il Divo has nothing to do with that annoying singing group that sang with Barbra Streisand.

- Who the hell watched The Hurt Locker, other than critics and bloggers?

- I realized that other than Sandra Bullock, I have no rooting interest in the Oscars this year. If Sandra wins, I will have my revenge against the elitists!!!